The two men in black exchanged a glance, their eyes dripping with disdain. They believed Raven didn’t even register as a threat. No cultivation, no power -zero danger in their book. 

“Wanna die, kid? Happy to oblige,” one of them sneered, his tone lazy, like he was swatting a fly. 

They lunged toward her, half–assing their panches, fully expecting to send Raven Valor sprawling with one hit. 

But before their fists could connect, a sharp gust whipped past them. Next thing they knew, they were airborne, crashing hard into the stone door behind them with a sickening thud. 

“Urgh!” Blood sprayed from their mouths as they crumpled to the ground, out cold. 

Behind them, Anastasia and the others stood frozen, jaws practically on the floor. They gawked at Xia Tian, still reeling from the shock of what júst happened. 

Mick’s usual cocky grin faltered. He studied Raven with a mix of awe and something heavier, his mind racing. She was way stronger than he’d pegged her for. And her vibe? It reminded him of that girl. 

‘No,‘ he thought, shaking his head with a bitter chuckle. ‘Stop comparing. Move on, man.’ 

Meanwhile, outside the chamber, the crowd was losing it. Every eye was glued to the massive screen, nobody daring to blink. 

This random girl, who everyone had written off as a nobody with no clan backing, was straight–up defying the odds. 

She’d been pulling off miracles left and right since stepping into that secret chamber, and now? She’d just smoked two checkpoint guards like it was 

nothing. 

The family heads, who’d been praying for Raven Valor’s downfall, could only shake their heads, dumbfounded. 

“Number 135 has taken down the checkpoint guards and is gearing up for the final stage!” the host’s voice boomed, sending a fresh wave of gasps through the crowd. 

“Look at that!” the host continued, barely containing his excitement. “She’s cracked open the stone door! But here’s the kicker–once the secret chamber 

detects an intruder, it’ll unleash a cloud of toxic gas. 

“And guess what? She’s got no antidote on her. Even if she makes it through, she’s toast…” 

The organizers had stocked the chamber with all sorts of herbs for the contestants, but whipping up anything better than a basic elixir in that 

cooker? Fat chance. 

pressure 

“Now Number 135 and her partner are poisoned,” the host went on, his tone grim. “Even if they clear the last hurdle, they’re not long for this world…” 

But before he could finish, the crowd let out a collective gasp. On the massive screen, Raven pulled out not one, but two advanced elixir tablets. 

The arena lost its mind. an advanced elixir tablet, and it was even two of them. 

Those tablets? More than enough to neutralize the chamber’s poison gas. 

But in all of Forlunda City, even mid–tier elixirs were worth more than gold. ‘How the hell does Raven–a lone wolf with no advanced ones?‘ they thought. 

crew–get her hands on 

Inside the chamber, Raven tossed one of the tablets to Mick. He blinked, stunned, then popped it in his mouth without a second thought. 

The two of them bolted for the exit, their footsteps echoing in the stone corridor.ith Raven Valor. 

Even with the antidote in their systems, the clock was ticking. If they didn’t make it out before the timer hit zero, the exit would seal shut forever, and 

1/2 

Chapter 971 

they’d fail the challenge. 

Raven, laser–focused, had no clue the audience outside was losing it over her little stunt with the elixirs. 

Truth was, those two advanced tablets were all she had–no backups, no lower–grade stuff. If she wasn’t worried about looking like a total show off, the might’ve whipped out a special elixir instead. 

But that would’ve been overkill. 

“Hang on,” someone in the crowd muttered, eyes wide. “Is this girl a pharmacist or what?”